Custom Properties

[VisioWillBlowYourMind]

I have construction drawings ranging in upwards of 4 to 5MB, nontypical
amount of detail for visio architectural files... I want to create material
take-offs in my drawings with the insertion of a quick spreadsheet. Do the
masterstencils need to be assigned custom properties that export to data
collection before the drawing is ever started or can the custom properties be
added in an old drawing to create a take-off at the completion of a set of
working drawings?

 

[David J Parker]

You can add them at any time, but you may see an increase in file size,
especially if they are not added to the master.

 

[Brett Newman]

I have construction drawings ranging in upwards of 4 to 5MB, nontypical
amount of detail for visio architectural files... I want to create material
take-offs in my drawings with the insertion of a quick spreadsheet.  Dothe
masterstencils need to be assigned custom properties that export to data
collection before the drawing is ever started or can the custom properties be
added in an old drawing to create a take-off at the completion of a set of
working drawings?

You definitely need properties (shape data) to generate a useful bill
of materials. We have a Visio bill of materials add-in called
QuotePix that will add properties to your shapes to support bill of
materials export to Excel even if those properties are not in the
master shapes. QuotePix is available for trial at
http://www.shapesource.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=236. If you
decide to try it, you can contact me for help in setting it up since
it may not be that clear how to work with your particular drawing.

Regards,
Brett
(e-mail address removed)